ABOARD A U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT  The FBI probe into the sex scandal that led to the resignation of CIA director David Petraeus has expanded to ensnare Gen. John R. Allen, the commander of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan, the Pentagon announced early Tuesday.

According to a senior U.S. defense official, the FBI has uncovered between 20,000 and 30,000 pages of potentially inappropriate emails between Allen and Jill Kelley, a 37-year-old Tampa woman whose close friendship with Petraeus ultimately led to his downfall. Allen, a Marine, succeeded Petraeus as the top allied commander in Afghanistan in July 2011.

The FBI first notified the Pentagon of its investigation into Allens communications with Kelley on Sunday evening, according to the senior defense official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details of the ongoing case.

In response, Pentagon chief Leon E. Panetta referred the investigation to the Defense Departments Inspector General for further review, according to a statement released by Panetta early Tuesday as he was traveling to Australia.

The latest development in the unfolding scandal has shaken President Obamas national-security staff and upended his carefully chosen plans for his military and intelligence team in his second term.

It also further calls into question the personal behavior of two of the U.S. militarys highest-ranking and most respected figures, who apparently ignored concerns about the highly sensitive nature of their jobs as they embraced personal relationships with younger women who were not their wives.

SNIP

In his statement, Panetta said Allen would remain as commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan for now, while the matter is under investigation and before the facts are determined.

the FBI has uncovered between 20,000 and 30,000 pages of potentially inappropriate emails between Allen and Jill Kelley

Weren't they working on a book together? I'd doubt that all 30,000 emails were "inappropriate". Sounds like the Washington Poop engaging in a bit of character assassination as the Drive By Media likes to do. Get the hits in before the story gets cleared up.

I had a really uneasy feeling about this Kelly woman just after seeing her pictures. She obviously likes the attention and the way she tilts her head and poses makes me think this gal believes she is way hotter than she really is.

Wow, this is new information from the Wash. Post at that. Are they now actually getting interested in this now that the election if over? Well, either way, I will not believe anything that they say - will look for other sources. They have corrupted themselves beyond my reading them...

So...if I read this right, this same woman had “two” of our leading military/security leaders under her influence?

Sounds more and more like a honey trap and smells more and more like someone setting it up. Is it foreign enemies...or domestice ones? Right now, it’s hard to say...but even money would indicate domestic is just as possible.

It is not curious that Paula's book had a Washington Post editor? __________________________________________________________

The book began as research for her dissertation, a case study of Petraeus’ leadership. It evolved into an authorized biography written with Washington Post editor Vernon Loeb after President Barack Obama put Petraeus in charge of Afghanistan in 2010.

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